Crystal Skulls: Part 1. What makes them so special?

Before the mid 1990’s crystal skulls were a rare phenomenon. People might have heard of them, but only a few had actually seen a crystal skull. Now the author is writing about crystal skulls with several crystal skulls around him and many more elsewhere in the house.

Why, you may ask, would anyone want to take a beautiful crystal and carve it into a skull? Is it a Halloween joke perhaps? No, crystal skulls have something special and many people begin to become aware of that. Crystals carved into skulls are more powerful than the crystal was before the carving. So apparently crystal skulls are special.

I would like to share first a personal story, which in itself is not unique. While reading the messages that are sent to the Crystal Skull mailing list on the Internet I noticed that similar things have happened to others. It is, however, a good example of the effect crystal skulls can have on people.

British Museum skull

In 1994 I visited for the first time the Four Corners area in the Southwest. I was at that time still living in Holland, my home country. During the tour of one month my wife and I stayed 11 days in Sedona. During our stay we of course visited many metaphysical bookstores. For a reason I did not understand at that time, I was strongly attracted to the books of Lazaris. I bought two of the three books that were available at that time. I could not find the third book, however. Instead of being happy with the two books I had found, I felt a compulsion to get also the third book. So every day I tried to find it. The last day before our departure – I had almost given up – I talked to a person in one of the New Age centers. He told me that there was a woman who privately sold material from Lazaris. I was lucky: she was at home, could see us and she had the book.

The woman had a lot of the Lazaris material and she had also a large collection of crystals in her house. I was really into crystals at that time so it was exciting to look at her collection. At a certain moment she looked at me and asked me to close my eyes. She had something she wanted me to experience. I felt a bit silly, sitting there with my eyes closed. At the same time I felt an expectation similar to that of a child that is at the point of unwrapping his Christmas present. I heard her coming back into the room and felt suddenly a heavy cold smooth stone in my hands. Without even knowing what it was I started to cry. And while I was crying I felt sillier, because I had no clue why I was crying. I still had not opened my eyes. I heard the woman saying to my wife: “ This has happened already several times”. After sobbing for about half an hour I was finally ready to open my eyes. I was sitting with a crystal skull in my hands. I had never heard of crystal skulls, let alone seen one. There I was, sitting with this human sized skull and without knowing what it was it made me cry for almost half an hour. Finally I could ask some questions. It turned out that I was sitting with a contemporary skull carved a couple of years ago by a Japanese carver. The woman was temporarily taking care of the skull for the owner. She told us that she had seen strange things happening around the skull, even spontaneous healing. Remember, I am talking about a contemporary skull.

I went home with many questions in mind. Why did I react the way I reacted? What are crystal skulls? Like many people I was grown up in a society which associated a skull with death. But what I had felt had nothing to do with death. In the contrary, it felt very much alive when I connected with the skull. I know now that there are societies where the skull is the symbol of knowledge and wisdom. It was that aspect I connected with when I held the skull in Sedona. It was an unconscious recognition of what the skull really stands for: wisdom, knowledge and consciousness.

My experience in Sedona started a search into the meaning of crystal skulls. It also induced a longing to have a crystal skull of my own to work with, to study and to experience the phenomenon of the crystal skull. It took me one and a half years to finally get a human sized clear quartz crystal skull carved in Brazil. That started a time of research and of experiencing crystal skull energies. At this moment (December 2005) my wife and I have a hundred contemporary skulls of different sizes and carved from different crystals.

Until the mid 1990’s only a few crystal skulls were known. Many of them were ancient or old skulls, although several contemporary skulls existed, mostly hidden in private collections. Most researchers consider all skulls carved in the last 100 years contemporary. Skulls carved between 100 and 1000 years ago are considered old and skulls older than 1000 years are called ancient. In general it is believed that when there are no tool marks the skulls are ancient. However, there are rumors that it is possible to create skulls without tool marks, making them look ancient.

Mitchell-Hedges skull

A few of the ancient crystal skulls are or have traveled in the United States. The best known is the Mitchell-Hedges skull. According to the most generally accepted story, this skull was found in 1927 in a Mayan ruin called Lubaantun in Belize, the former British Honduras. It is said that the adopted daughter of explorer F.A. Mitchell-Hedges found the skull. A lot of research has been done on this skull, especially since the sixties. As a consequence several books have been written about this skull. In all that has been written about the skull there is one thing in common. That is the feeling of wonderment. It raises the question when was this skull made and by whom? The Mayans claim that the skull is more than 100,000 years old. Because there is no way to figure out when a skull was carved, the age of this skull is a matter of speculation. Most psychics, however, are convinced it is ancient and several believe that it might have come from the lost land of Atlantis.

A few of the ancient crystal skulls are or have traveled in the United States. The best known is the Mitchell-Hedges skull. According to the most generally accepted story, this skull was found in 1927 in a Mayan ruin called Lubaantun in Belize, the former British Honduras. It is said that the adopted daughter of explorer F.A. Mitchell-Hedges found the skull. A lot of research has been done on this skull, especially since the sixties. As a consequence several books have been written about this skull. In all that has been written about the skull there is one thing in common. That is the feeling of wonderment. It raises the question when was this skull made and by whom? The Mayans claim that the skull is more than 100,000 years old. Because there is no way to figure out when a skull was carved, the age of this skull is a matter of speculation. Most psychics, however, are convinced it is ancient and several believe that it might have come from the lost land of Atlantis.

There have been made many attempts to carve a skull similar to the Mitchell-Hedges skull. One of the special characteristics of this skull is that it has a detachable jaw, which has been made from the same piece of crystal as the skull itself. And although there are carvers, especially in China, who can carve a skull with a detachable jaw from one piece of crystal, nobody has yet been able to carve a skull with all the lenses as is found in the Mitchell-Hedges Skull. All in all there is enough reason to keep people wondering where it came from and how it is possible that somebody carved this skull, especially so long ago.

There are many claims of strange and special effects in and around this skull. People see all kind of images in the skull, like landscapes, UFO’s, aliens, and much more. It is interesting that many of these phenomenon have been photographed, proving that it is not only the heated imagination of a few individuals. Unfortunately, at this moment the Mitchell-Hedges skull is not available for viewing.

For many years there has been another skull touring the United States. This skull is called Max the Texas Crystal skull. For many people who have been in the presence of this skull, it has become very important. It has healed people and changed people’s lives. The skull is a simple carving when compared to the Mitchell-Hedges skull. The way it has been carved, however, should have scattered it into pieces. Why it has not is a mystery. According to the story told by its caretaker, JoAnn Parks, the skull’s last caretaker was a Tibetan Lama who used it for healing.

Max, the Texas crystal skull

In the last 15 years several other ancient and old skulls have appeared. Some of them have been presented to the general public during lectures, ceremonies and conferences. Examples are ShaNaRa, ET, Rainbow, Madre, Zar and others. Some have again disappeared, possibly into inaccessible private collections.

To have a crystal skull had been the privilege of a happy few. That has changed over the last 10 to 15 years. Many contemporary skulls have flooded the market. At first they were mainly carved in Brazil, but now many are carved in China, although there are also some carved in Mexico and in Japan. What characteristics do these contemporary skulls have, especially when compared to ancient ones?

A story that comes back over and over is the story that crystal skulls are depositories of information. People compare it to a computer. It is believed that during ancient times the “Ancients” downloaded information into the skulls. At the right time this information will be accessed, but only when we know the “key” to unlock the information. This is also strongly believed by many indigenous people. According to many crystal skull researchers this downloaded information is only in ancient skulls and not in contemporary skulls. I believe this to be true. It is, however, amazing how quickly contemporary skulls download information when they are worked with, brought to places of power and sacred sites and of course when brought together with the old and ancient skulls. This means that working with contemporary skulls in different ways increases the amount of information in the skull, and with that increases its capabilities.

Sha Na Ra

All crystal skulls, like all crystals, are also wonderful tools for healing. The manifested abilities of skulls, ancient and contemporary, are also dependent upon the frequency with which they are used. Ancient skulls have often been used for healing over extensive periods and thus became very powerful healing tools. Contemporary skulls used over years also become amazing healing tools and may be or may become as good as the ancient ones. To create such a powerful crystal skull for healing the frequency of use is important, but also who has used it: the power and abilities of the healer or crystal worker.

Another interesting aspect of crystal skulls is that they are highly reflective. This means that they can reflect back to you as a mirror who you are – both your essence and what keeps you from fully manifesting that essence. They also help you to expand your awareness and to connect with other realms. Summarizing, they help you to see “yourself” in all aspects.

The caretaker seems to play an important role in the activation of crystal skulls. A special bond can develop between a caretaker and his/her crystal skull(s). This relationship is known from the beginning. If a person is looking to buy a crystal skull a certain crystal skull will awaken a knowing in the person and the skull seems to say “I want to go home with you”. A result of the attunement between a person and his/her skull further activates the skull. This allows other people to experience more of the qualities of that skull. It is for this reason that we cannot just buy any skull. We have to feel whether that skull and our energy “match”. This relationship between a skull and its caretaker can help the skull to grow into a wonderful tool that we can use in healing, meditations and workshops.

Our contemporary skulls have helped already many people to get answers and insights. This makes us happy and proud to be the caretakers of so many of these wonderful tools.